PSYCHOLOGICAL FICTION CHARACTERISTICS IN LAURA VAN DEN BERG’S SELECTED SHORT STORIES:
GENRE STUDY THESIS
Rara Rahma AdeliaBy NIM 16320133
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
UNIVERSITAS ISLAM NEGERI MAULANA MALIK IBRAHIM MALANG
2022
PSYCHOLOGICAL FICTION CHARACTERISTICS IN LAURA VAN DEN BERG’S SELECTED SHORT STORIES:
GENRE STUDY THESIS
Presented to
Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra (S.S.)
Rara Rahma Adelia
ByNIM 16320133
Advisor
Agung Wiranata Kusuma, MA NIP 198402072015031004
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
UNIVERSITAS ISLAM NEGERI MAULANA MALIK IBRAHIM MALANG
2022
MOTTO
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
(C. S. Lewis)
DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to my beloved parents and stepparents for their endless support and prayers, as well as to my little brothers and sisters who have always
succeeded in bringing back my spirit during my time working on this thesis.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All the praises I gave to Allah for all of His guidance, mercies, and love that generously He gave to me as one of His reckless creatures so that I can complete my thesis as well as I could, entitled “Psychological Fiction in Laura Van Den Berg’s Selected Short Stories: Genre Study.” Sholawat and Salam, we hope they are given to our Prophet Muhammad SAW. Because of his love, we can differentiate between the good and the bad.
I would like to present my gratitude to all of the people who helped me during the process of working on this thesis. For the one that patiently gives me advice for better writing in my thesis, Agung Wiranata Kusuma, MA. For the one that always guides my academic plan during my study in this university, Dr.
Rohmani Nur Indah, M. Pd. Finally, my parents that always support me through their prayers and courage. They worked hard to fulfill my needs during my study and never gave up on me. Last but not least, I would also want to thank all of my friends around me that I cannot mention one by one for their support and best wishes. I wish that Allah will give back to them more than all of the kindness that they gave to me.
ABSTRACT
Adelia, Rara Rahma (2022). Psychological Fiction Characteristics in Laura Van Den Berg’s Selected Short Stories: Genre Study. Thesis. Malang: English Literature, Faculty of Humanity, Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang.
Advisor : Agung Wiranata Kusuma, MA
Key Words : Psychological Fiction, Genre, Genre Study.
Terminologically, J. A. Cuddon (1991) describes genre as a French term for a kind, a literary type, or class. In literature, there are a lot of genre, and one of the popular genre in this field is psychological fiction. Psychological fiction work is kind of fiction that mostly focuses on the characters' spiritual, emotional, and mental lives, rather than the plot. There are various ways that can be used to classify literature, such as language, author's background, place of origin, time period, and genre. However, this study selected one of those literary classification, which is genre, and make genre study as the main focus, particularly psychological fiction genre study.
This study aims to examine and identify the psychological fiction characteristics portrayed in Laura Van Den Berg’s selected short stories. The researcher uses genre study approach as the design of this study. The data obtained from five selected story in Laura van den Berg’s short stories collection entitled I Hold A Wolf by the Ears (2020) : 1) Last Night, 2) Slumberland, 3) The Pitch, 4) Volcano House, 5) Karolina in the form of sentences, conversation, and statements. And as the this study is focused on the the psychological fiction genre study, the researcher uses the J. A. Cuddon (1991) theory of psychological fiction genre characteristics to assist this study.
The result of this study shows that each of the selected short stories from the collection portrays the psychological fiction genre characteristics, which is 1) emphasizing the internal characterization that influenced by the character arc and 2) narration style that purposely focuses on investigating the motives for the character’s actions, which drive the plot and provide context for the narrative. For the first characteristics, all of the selected short story shows that every story’s protagonist’s internal characterization going through all of the phases in character arc, which is:
Initial Condition, Inciting Event, Escalation, Moment of Truth, and Final State. Meanwhile, for the second characteristics, each story deliver the narration style that focuses on investigating the motives of the character’s action, particularly the protagonist that becomes the center of the story.
This is shown in the delivery of flashback and stream of consciousness of the protagonist in each of the short story.
ABSTRAK
Adelia, Rara Rahma (2022). Psychological Fiction Characteristics In Laura Van Den Berg’s Selected Short Stories: Genre Study. Skripsi. Malang: Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Humaniora, Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang.
Pembimbing : Agung Wiranata Kusuma, MA
Kata Kunci : Fiksi Psikologis, Genre Sastra, Studi Genre.
Secara terminologis, J. A. Cuddon (1991) menjelaskan genre sebagai istilah Perancis untuk jenis, tipe sastra, atau kelas. Dalam karya sastra terdapat banyak genre, dan salah satu genre yang populer dalam bidang ini adalah fiksi psikologis. Karya fiksi psikologis adalah jenis fiksi yang lebih banyak berfokus pada kehidupan spiritual, emosional, dan mental tokohnya, daripada plotnya. Ada berbagai cara yang dapat digunakan untuk mengklasifikasikan karya sastra, seperti bahasa, latar belakang pengarang, tempat asal, periode waktu, dan genre. Namun penelitian ini memilih salah satu dari klasifikasi sastra tersebut, yaitu genre, dan menjadikan kajian genre sebagai fokus utama, khususnya kajian genre fiksi psikologis.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji dan mengidentifikasi unsur-unsur fiksi psikologis yang digambarkan dalam cerpen pilihan Laura Van Den Berg. Peneliti menggunakan pendekatan studi genre sebagai desain penelitian ini. Data diperoleh dari lima cerita terpilih dalam kumpulan cerpen Laura van den Berg berjudul I Hold A Wolf by the Ears (2020): 1) Last Night, 2) Slumberland, 3) The Pitch, 4) Volcano House, 5) Karolina in dalam bentuk kalimat, percakapan, dan pernyataan. Dan karena penelitian ini difokuskan pada studi genre fiksi psikologis, peneliti menggunakan teori karakteristik genre fiksi psikologis J. A. Cuddon (1991) untuk membantu penelitian ini.
Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa masing-masing cerpen terpilih dari kumpulan tersebut menggambarkan karakteristik genre fiksi psikologis, yaitu 1) menekankan penokohan internal yang dipengaruhi oleh character arc dan 2) gaya narasi yang sengaja berfokus pada penyelidikan motif tindakan karakter, yang menggerakkan plot dan memberikan konteks untuk narasi. Untuk karakteristik pertama, semua cerpen yang dipilih menunjukkan bahwa karakterisasi internal setiap protagonis cerita melalui semua fase dalam busur karakter, yaitu: Initial Condition, Inciting Event, Escalation, Moment of Truth, dan Final State. Sedangkan untuk ciri kedua, masing- masing cerita menghadirkan gaya penceritaan yang menitikberatkan pada penyelidikan motif tindakan tokoh, terutama tokoh protagonis yang menjadi pusat cerita. Hal ini ditunjukkan dalam penyampaian kilas balik dan arus kesadaran tokoh protagonis dalam setiap cerpennya.
ثحبلا صلختسم
ر ارار ، ايليدأ.٢٠٢٢. ند ناف ارول ةراتخملا ةريصقلا صصقلا يف يسفنلا لايخلا عون ديدحتل ةادأك ديدجلا دقنل ا صصقلا :نينذلا نم اببئذ لمحأ ينع جريب . ، ةيناسنلا مولعلا ةيلك ، يزيلجنلا بدلا مسق (لاقم) يعرف ةحورطأ جنلام ميهاربإ كلام انلوم يرجين ملالا ةعماج.
ريتسجاملا ،امواوك اتناريو عوغا : راشتسملا ةيحاتفملا تاملكلا : ةبراقتم ةءارق ، ديدج دقن ، عون ، لايخ ، ةيسفن.
هسفن عونلا ربتعي ، بدلا لاجم يف .ةفلتخم تافيرعتو فئاظو عم تلاجملا فلتخم يف مدختسي حلطصم وه عونلا حمسي .ءايحلا ملع لاجم يف ةيحلا تانئاكلا فينصت اهماظن هبشي يتلا ةيبدلا لامعلا عاونأ نيب زييمتلل مدختسي اببناج يلايخلا عونلا وه اهدحأ .ةيبدلا لامعلا يف ةديدج ابعاونأ كلذ دعب جتنت يتلاو روطتلا وأ عطاقتلاب عاونلل ابًيأ اذه بناوج تاذ ةفلتخم عاونأ دجوت ، تائفلا هذه نم ةئف لك يف .ةريصقلا صصقلاو تاياورلاو تاياورلا لمشي يذلا عاونلا رثكأ نم عونلا اذه حبصأ .ةصقلا يف ةراتخملا تايصخشلل يلخادلا فيصوتلا بناوجل ةيولولا يطعت ةيسفن عون وه ناذلا نم بئذ لمحأ انأ جريب ند ناف ارول ةريصقلا صصقلا ةعومجم يف لامعلا دحأو ، مويلا ةيبعش .يسفنلا لايخلا لمحأ انأ صصق ةعومجم نم ةراتخم ةريصق صصق يف يسفنلا لايخلا عاونأ ديدحت وه ةااردلا هذه نم ضرغلا .يسفنلا لايخلا نم ةيبدأ لامعأ اهنأ ىلع ةراتخملا ةريصقلا صصقلا فينصت نكمي فيك مهفل كلذكو ناذلا نم بئذ ٤ ، ميحجلا لت (٣ ،دنلربملاا) ٢ ، ةيضاملا ةليللا (ا :كلذ يف امب ، ثحبلا اذهل ةريصق صصق ينامث رايتخا مت يف .نذلا قيرط نع بئذلا ناذلا نم بئذ لمحأ انأ) ٨ و ، انيلوراك (٧ ، ناكربلا تيب (٦ ، بعلملا (٥ ، يلاحسلا(
زكرت يتلا ةصحافلا ةءارقلا وهو ، ابديدج ابيدقن اببولاأ ثحابلا مدختاا ، ةااردلا هذه يف اهليلحت مت يتلا تانايبلا عمج .ةصقلا فلؤم ةيفلخ لثم يبدلا لمعلا جراخ رصانع كارشإ نود ةيبدلا لامعلا ىلع طقف للخ نم لاكشلا هذه فصو متي .ةراتخم ةصق لك يف يسفنلا لايخلا عونل ابددحم ابفصو ةااردلا هذه جئاتن تدجو هذه نم لك نأ ابًيأ دجي ، كلذ ىلإ ةفاضلاب .ةريصق ةصق لك يف يوارلا ةاجانمو تايصخشلا نيب راوحلاو درسلا نم عونك لهأتلل ةيرورًلا بناوجلا ىلع يوتحت اهنل ةيسفن ةيبدأ لامعأ اهنأ ىلع اهفينصت نكمي ةريصقلا صصقلا ةنرتقم .ةراتخملا ةيصخشلا روطت وأ ةلحرو ةيلخادلا تافيصوتلا ىلع طقف ةصقلا زكرت ، اهنيب نم .يسفنلا لايخلا .ةصقلا ىوتحمو ةصقلا ىلع ابًيأ رثؤت يتلا ةيصخشلا لاعفأ عفاود يف ققحت ةصقب
TABLE OF CONTENT
THESIS COVER..···
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP···i
APPROVAL SHEET··· ii
LEGITIMATION SHEET···iii
MOTTO···iv
DEDICATION··· v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT··· vi
ABSTRACT···vii
TABLE OF CONTENT··· x
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION··· 1
A. Background of the Study··· 1
B. The Problems of the Study··· 5
C. Objectives of the Study··· 5
D. Significance of the Study··· 5
E. Scope and Limitation··· 6
F. Previous Studies··· 6
G. Definition of Key Terms···9
H. Research Method··· 10
1. Research Design··· 10
2. Data Source··· 11
3. Data Collection··· 11
4. Data Analysis··· 12
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE··· 13
A. Genre Study··· 13
1. Literary Genre Study···14
2. Genre in Popular Fiction··· 16
B. Psychological Fiction Genre ··· 19
1. Internal Characterization··· 22
a) Initial Condition··· 22
b) Inciting Event···22
c) Escalation··· 22
d) Moment of Truth···22
e) Final State··· 23
2. Narration Style···25
CHAPTER III: ANALYSIS··· 28
A.Psychological Fiction Features in The Short Stories··· 28
1.Internal Characterization in 5 Short Stories··· 28
a) Initial Condition··· 29
b) Inciting Events··· 33
c) Escalation···37
d) Moment of Truth···40
e) Final State··· 45
2.Narration Style in 5 Short Stories··· 50
a) Last Night··· 50
b) Slumberland··· 52
c) The Pitch···53
d) Volcano House··· 55
e) Karolina···56
CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION··· 58
A. Conclusion··· 58
B. Suggestion···60
BIBLIOGRAPHY···61
CURRICULUM VITAE···64
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
For this chapter, the researcher explains some necessary information, including Background of Study, The Problem of The Study, The Objective of the Study, Significance, Scope and Limitation, Key Terms, and Research Design.
A. Background of Study
There are various ways that can be used to classified literature, such as language, author's background, place of origin, time period, and genre (Kurniawan, 2018). Meanwhile, in this study, the researcher selected one of the those literary classification and make genre study as the main focus.
Terminologically, Cuddon (1991) describes genre as a French term for a kind, a literary type, or class. Furthermore, Frow mentioned that genre or kind is a more particular grouping of texts with conceptual, rhetorical, and formal dimensions, whereas sub-genre is a further specification of genre based on a specific thematic content (Frow, 2005:68).
According to Turco (2020) in The Book of Literary Term it is stated that the primary genre in literature are poetry, drama, fiction and nonfiction.
However, fiction is one of the most commonly found nowadays due to it’s popularity. And for the past few years, one of it’s subgenre that received a lot of attention and achievement is psychological fiction. Two of the many
examples is the release of novel and movie adaptation of Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn's masterpiece in 2012 that wins the Peoples Choice Award in 2015 and Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train (2015) which nominated as #1 New York Times Bestseller, USA Book of the Year (Alter, 2015).
Nevertheless, similar to other literary genres, psychological fiction has characteristics that distinguish it from others. According to Harmon and Holman (1990), unlike the genre that focuses on the plot, psychological fiction is a genre that focuses on the story’s characters to build the story from the beginning until the end. Thus, the characteristics or elements in psychological fiction literary work are the aspects that related to the character.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a master of this genre. His novels, most especially The Brothers Karamazov (1880) and Crime and Punishment (1866) are heavily concerned with ideas and the characters who embody them, how they play out in real-world situations and the value of these ideas.” (Baym 2003:
169).
On the other hand, this genre not only found in novel, but also short stories. One of them is Laura Van den Berg’s short story collection, I Hold A Wolf By The Ears: Stories (2020). The short story collection was one of Time’s Best Fiction of 2020, longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR, Bustle, Good Housekeeping, and the New York Public Library (Berg, 2020). The collection has eleven short stories in total. Despite the similarities in the background of the characters in
several stories, the author present them differently. This distinction is notably noticeable in the way each story's psychological fiction aspects are portrayed.
However, to be more efficient, the researcher chose only one of several narratives with similar character backgrounds. Consequently, five narratives with diverse character histories are included in this study, they are Last Night, Slumberland, The Pitch, Volcano House, and Karolina.
Each of the the main characters presented in the selected stories faces different issues. In Last Night, the protagonist troubled by the past memories when she was suicidal. Meanwhile, in Slumberland, the character was physically affected by neighbor wails every night. In The Pitch, the main character that denies the existence of her late brother was forced to confess his past, while in Volcano House the main character conflicted after she recall the time when she and her comatose twin sister visited a volcano. Lastly, in
"Karolina," the main character is forced to confront the truth about her violent brother after discovering her ex-sister-in-law in the aftermath of an earthquake. With the variety of stories it is ideal to be the object in the researcher’s genre study of psychological fiction.
In conducting this study, the researcher influenced by the Frow’s (2005) statement about genre which explains that, “part of what it means to be a member of a culture is knowing the difference, between riddles and jokes, tragedy and comedy musical and thrillers” (p.65). Moreover, understanding the elements of a certain genre in the literature is also needed to grasp the
value that each author meant to deliver to the readers and make our reading more enjoyable. However, every genre has its specific style and elements that make some genres easy to recognize, such as thriller and romance. On the other hand, the other genre, including psychological fiction might be harder to notice because of the implicit characteristics. Therefore, conducting genre study in the Laura Van Den Berg’s selected short stories is prominent to broaden the reader’s knowledge about psychological fiction genre. As the this study is focused on the the psychological fiction genre study, the researcher uses the J. A. Cuddon (1991) theory of psychological fiction genre characteristics to assist this study.
Previously, there are various genre studies. Such as Ardianto (2015) that uses Edgar Allan Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, which focuses on analyzing the gothic genre. Another study is The Detective Fiction Genre in Alexander McCall Smith’s Botswana Novel done by Finnegan (2006). A study about the prefiguring genre was also conducted by Barchas (2019) in Gulliver’s Travels to Millenium Hall. However, those studies use novel as the object, not short story. There are some study that use short story, but in another approach other than genre study. For example, Rahayu (2021) that selected “Bulan Merah Rabu Wekasan” short story.
Besides that, she also chose “Benih Jahat Itu Tumbuh, Bagaimana Saya Harus Memperlakukannya” and conduct a study using critical discourse analysis approach (Rahayu, 2022). In the same year, she conduct another
study using “The Search Engine” short story as the object and postcolonial feminist literary criticism. Furthermore, there was no study about the short stories from Laura van Den Berg’s collection yet, since this literature is still new. The newly published work is also an important point to conduct this research to enrich genre study in the literature field, especially the study of short story collections and in I Hold A Wolf by The Ears: Stories. Furthermore, this study will also enrich genre studies of the psychological fiction genre.
B. The Problem of The Study
According to the background of the study above, the research questions of this study is what are the psychological fiction characteristics portrayed in Laura Van Den Berg’s selected short stories?
C. The Objective of the Study
According to the problem of the study mentioned above, the objective of the study of this study is to discover the portrayal of psychological fiction characteristics in Laura Van Den Berg’s selected short stories.
D. Significance
The significance of the study are:
This study will give some contributions to theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically, this study is expected to develop Literary Studies in
understanding the short stories and applying literary theory for scientific work.
It becomes a reference for similar case analyses in the future, particularly the psychological fiction genre analysis.
Practically, the first is that this study tries to offer people a way to increase students’ ability to understand distinct characteristics of psychological fiction in literary works. The second is to broaden the knowledge about genre study in literature, especially in psychological fiction work and might be applied in other future studies.
E. Scope and Limitation
In this study, the researcher would be focused on the psychological fiction genre study. The use of this approach means that the study solely discuss the aspects involved in the genre of the selected short stories. The study will specifically select the data taken from five selected story in Laura Van Den Berg’s short story collection titled I Hold A Wolf by The Ears that the researcher determines as a form of psychological fiction elements.
F. Previous Study
There are several previous studies discuss the similar topic as this research. Unfortunately, a previous study that uses a short story compilation, I Hold A Wolf By The Ears of Laura van den Berg as an object of study, is not yet available. The first previous study is related to the genre analysis by using
new criticism as the device by Ardianto (2015) that focused on determining Gothic Genre in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. He used New criticism and Metonymy as A Device to Determine the Gothic Genre in the novel in his research. Finally, the result of the study is the gothic elements that he found in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. The elements are more or less similar to what exists in Horace Walpole’s (the father of the Gothic genre story) work, but with some adjustments that Poe made to build the story. The elements are: Setting in the castle that replaced by a ship and an island filled with scenes of horror and mystery; Ancient prophecy and Omens, portents, visions which then considered replaceable by the atmosphere of mystery and horror, or metonymy of horror;
and for the last element is women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male that also replaced by some men who constantly suffer from his journey.
The second study is An Analysis of the Priest Genre in the Modern French Novel by Ray P. Bowen (2014). He stated that “As the best method of reading Balzac is to follow, through the course of several novels, the history of one character, so possibly there is no better way of approaching the modern French novel as a whole than by a study of the Catholic priest as they portrayed” (p.722). In this study, he focused on the priestly novel’s main theme to indicate their relationship and reveal their overall pattern aspect of the topic that Paul Franche overlooks in his Le Pretre Dans le roman franqais. Bowen
found in this study that instead of using the priest type’s generality, there are few dominant themes adequate for its portrayal: 1) The bad priest that enjoyed ascendency early in the century; 2) The wicked priest that belonged more particularly to the years of romanticism.; 3) The good and the devout priest, which is numerously found but at the same time he is less important than the wicked priest in the general development of the clerical novel, and also as a character study.
The third study is a study about the detective fiction genre. In Alexander McCall Smith’s Botswana Novel, done by Finnegan (2006), he focused on the detective fiction genre in various novels of Alexander McCall Smith. Finnegan purposely chose one of the authors and decided to study the detective fiction genre used in many of his novels. In this study, Finnegan includes the author’s background information which affects the author’s genre to write in his novels, just like Finnegan’s statement, “Many of these cases have a strong basis in fact and the author’s local experience.” (p.145) Finnegan breaks down one by one of the novels and analyzes each of them in detail and systematically. After analyzing each of the works, in the end, Finnegan found that what makes Alexander successfully create a ‘completely satisfactory detective’ is his deliberate, confident rebuttal to ‘Scottish miserabilism,’ and his branding of Africa and the African voice from the West for the West (Finnegan, 2006:144).
Another detective genre study was also conducted by Oakley (2003). He focused on how Nabokov (Russian-American novelist) built on and
manipulated well-known genre archetypes and also how he overturned cliched plot patterns in order to sabotage the reader’s relationship in the story of his two novels genre in Pale Fire (1962) and Despair (1936). In Pale Fire and Despair, Oakley mentioned that Nabokov implements the detective fiction genre with a strong appeal to thrill the reader by subverting generic standards and raising significant concerns about the essence of creative expression. As the result of this study, Oakley concluded some points that Nabokov used to manipulate the detective fiction genre in his two novels. 1) Nabokov breakdown the stereotypical method of characterization that associated with the genre and also defamiliarized the reader’s view about the roles of victim, villain, and detective consist of, 2) Instead of using the detective fiction genre to defend the reader from irrationality, he uses it to challenges the readers to discover their own solution for the case (Oakley, 2003: 494).
Based on the previous study explained above, the literary genre studies that already exist were the detective fiction genre, religious genre, and gothic genre. The research on psychological genre study has yet to be published.
Therefore, the researcher inspired to conduct a study about psychological fiction genre study on Laura van Den Berg’s short stories in I Hold A Wolf By The Ears: Stories.
G. Definition of Key Terms
There are several terms in this study that might be foreign for the reader, so the researcher provides the definition and explanation of various terms used in the study to avoid misunderstanding throughout reading this study.
1.Genre Study: In literature, genre study is an approach of structuralist to genre study or genre theory in literary theory. The study of a genre in this manner examines the structural elements that combine in the telling of a story and looks for patterns in collections of stories (Bawarsi & Reiff, 2010: 17).
2.Genre: a French term for a kind, a literary type, or a class (Cuddon, 1991).
3.Psychological fiction: One of the sub-genres of the fiction genre in literature that specializes in psychological theme stories (Frow, 2005).
C. Research Method
This research method section describes the research design, data sources, data collection, and data analysis were discussed by the researcher.
1. Research Design
In this study, the researcher uses genre study as an approach in this study. In order to assist the psychological fiction genre study, the researcher use genre theory John Frow (2005). The purpose of using this approach is to help the researcher to collect and identify the data from the five selected short stories in I Hold A Wolf By The Ears: Stories. That way, after all the data gathered from the short stories, the researcher can proceed to explain how all
of the data help the researcher discover the characteristics of psychological fiction genre portrayed in the short stories.
2. Data Sources
The data source for conducting this study is the literary work itself.
The literary work used in this research is Lura Van Den Berg’s I Hold A Wolf By The Ears: Stories (2020). This study only uses primary data for the analysis, specifically, the content, characterization, and narration style in all of five selected short stories in I Hold A Wolf By The Ears: Stories (2020).
Those are; Last Night, Slumberland, The Pitch, Volcano House, and Karolina.
3. Data Collection
In this research, the researcher has some ways to collect the data. The primary way is by reading the data thoroughly. Careful reading is essential in conducting this research as it is classified into qualitative research. The researcher needs to reread the five selected short stories in I Hold A Wolf by The Ears carefully and thoroughly due to the importance of a deep understanding of the short stories’ content. These will help the researcher discover which characteristics of the psychological fiction genre appear in the short stories. Moreover, the researcher also reads the references related to the
psychological fiction genre and other references attached to the short stories’
content.
4. Data Analysis
To analyze the data systematically, the researcher formulates some steps to conduct the data. The first step is to decide which topic that will be discussed. The second step is to collect the data which indicates the characteristics of psychological fiction genre. After that, the researcher will review the collected data which is related to the topic.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter contains reviews of some related literature used in this study.
The review includes the genre studies as the structuralist approach of the study of genre, a review of the genre in literature, and Psychological Fiction Genre as the main analysis of the study.
A. Genre Study
Literary genre studies is an approach of structuralist to genre study or genre theory in literary theory. The study of a genre in this manner examines the structural elements that combine in the telling of a story and looks for patterns in collections of stories (Bawarsi & Reiff, 2010: 17). As stated by Bawarshi and Reiff (2010), throughout the last thirty years, scholars from different fields and backgrounds have changed how people assume about genre, they gave an idea that genre interpretation may lead to the type of text which related to the social activity rather than only sticking to an opinion that considers genres as mere classifications of text. Consequently, genres are more and more characterized as methods of recognition, reaction, substantive and consequential action in and reproduction of recent circumstances.
Historically and currently, there are various ways to define and to use genre in literary theory such as the genre study of “Sydney school”, corpus or historical linguistics, English for Specific Purposes, “North American” genre study or Rhetorical Genre Studies (Alyousef & Alyahya: 2018). From time to time,
through various kinds of studies that significantly influence the teaching of writing and research such as literary, linguistic, and rhetorical/sociological genre traditions, genres have been used, synthesized, and understood. The interpretation and the critical and pedagogical perspectives of these traditions are often clarified in their different genre approaches (Devitt et al., 2004: 13).
Besides its various way of definition, genre also has its own system. In fact, the genre’s system is not stable or closed made it not appropriate to only talk about one specific system. Instead, we can put forward that there are some genre systems which classified based on the domain. For example, architecture, films, television, and literature which is open-ended and they have the high possibilities to always evolve and shift in a new form. The thing that made the discussion about genre’s system was because the genre was defined in relational terms that differentiate the characteristics by their position and purpose (Frow, 2005: 124- 125).
1. Literary Genre Study
Devitt et al. (2004) mentioned in their book, Scenes of Writing:
Strategies for Composing with Genres, and explained that literary approaches to genre were specifically less concerned with writing instruction and writing programs. However, their critical viewpoint, which includes genre and innovation, and how they have influenced broad-based belief in genre, result in the literary genre's importance for studies in linguistic and rhetorical studies for genre (Bawarshi & Reiff, 2010: 14). On the other hand, Eagleton (2008) explained that genres are cultural facts that can hardly be mapped on natural
points. In particular, we can reflect on the comparison between the biological model of organisms and evolution with the genre as follows: First, in contrast with the biological species that involves no genetic continuity, the morphology of any genres is open-ended and undetermined; second, all genres are interfertile and possible to be crossed with whenever and whatever genre that already existed, whereas the biological genus is defined by the fact that it is not interfertile with another genus (Frow, 2005: 70) and third, the individual organism in biology only able to manifest or exemplify the group, in contrast, it is possible for individual text in literature or culture to be able to modify and change the group to some extent (Eagleton, 2008: 21) Nevertheless, it is less precise to assume that the text’s properties can be directly or simply derived from its genre. (Frow, 2005: 25-27)
Genre was considered an abstract taxonomy in literature (Klages, 2012).
The taxonomy signifies a containment principle or an idea that is forever static.
Plato and Aristoteles have been the earliest recorded systems of genre in Western history. Plato was defined by Gérard Genette as the one who developed the three imitation genres in Greek literature. They are the pure genre, the dramatic dialogue genre (Drama), the epic genre (narrative poem or novel), and the non-mimetic mode (lyrical poetry). This system then updated by Aristotle by excluding the pure narrative in the viable mode and replace it with two specifications: the object that able to be imitated may be superior or inferior;
and the representation format could be in the form of verses, sentences, or even in gestures (Frow, 2005: 26). Besides, Baym mentioned that the taxonomy
model called Aristotelian assumes that there can be something like an exhaustive classification which can ‘place any member of a given population into one and only one class’ (Baym, 2003: 62). Thus, it can be concluded that the genre's nature that allows the crossovers between genres may lead to the birth of a new genre which is the ‘sub-genre’. Therefore, it is natural that nowadays, genres in literature have developed a lot with the existence of new sub-genres that increase over time due to the evolution of literary author’s ideas in their work. One of the most popular among the various genres in prose is fiction. The fiction genre has a lot of sub-genre until the present day and might also increase in the future. Some of them are Science Fiction, Detective Fiction, and Psychological Fiction (Psychological Realism).
2. Genre In Popular Fiction
Popular fiction or fiction is a genre that covers any creative work, primarily narrative work in which uses imaginary ways to portray people, places, or events and does not use any history or facts as its base (Harmon &
Holman, 1990: 22). Specifically, fiction is applied in written prose where the classification is made based on the length of the written narratives, such as novel (40.000 words or more), novella (17.500 to 40.000 words), and short story (commonly fewer than 7.500 words) (Abrams & Harpham: 2011: 94).
Furthermore, Cuddon (1991) stated that “At any rate, it does not normally cover poetry and drama though both are a form of fiction in that they are molded and contrived - or feigned. Fiction is now used in general of the novel, the short story, the novella and related genres” (Cuddon, 1991, p. 343).
The related genres are the variety of genres differentiated by the particular tone or style, archetypes, or narrative technique (Harmon & Holman, 1990: 212). According to McCracken (2005), there are four standard genres:
detective, romance, science fiction, and horror. There was a rapid increase beyond these genres and made genre fiction gain popularity in the post-war era, particularly in 1970-2000 (McCracken. 2005: 618). However, despite the proliferation and hybridization of genres resulting in various sub-genres, the four standard genres still became the key of popular form in the late twentieth century.
Terminologically, a sub-genre is a genre that is part of a larger genre.
Sub-genres are also a product of genre evolution, as stated by Bawarshi & Reiff (2010) that evolution of a genre that happened across time. A sub-genre is also can be defined as a subcategory within a particular genre. According to Turco (2020) in The Book of Literary Term it is stated that the primary genre in literature are poetry, drama, fiction and nonfiction. Meanwhile, the object of this analysis, which is short story, together with short-short story (a very short story) novella, novel, episode (a longer work of fiction of one incident or event), and anecdote, are some of the literary work that classified into fiction (Turco, 2020: 83). These sub-genres can stand as one genre and have their own sub- genre, which is specified by their own sub-genre that is used to differentiate the content, theme, or style of each category.
For instance, the literary work that fictionalizes crime, criminals, their detection, and their motives is categorized as the Crime genre. This genre also
has some sub-genre such as detective fiction, mystery fiction, and legal thriller (Franks, 2011: 133). A fiction genre that uses supernatural elements such as magic as its major plot element, setting, and theme is categorized as a Fantasy genre. This genre also has sub-genre such as Dark Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Urban Fantasy, and Western Fantasy (Culler, 2000: 60-61). Meanwhile, the story that focused on the romantic love and relationship between two people is categorized as Romance Genre with multiple sub-genre such as Romance Fantasy, Historical Romance, Science Fiction Romance, Erotic Romance, and Young Adult Romance (Regis, 2013: 52). In fiction, there is also a genre that covers the imaginative and futuristic idea in their story concept, called the Science Fiction Genre. This genre usually involves advanced technologies, time travel, parallel universe, or space exploration. Furthermore, this genre also becomes one genre that can explore the potential of technology and scientific innovation. It also has some sub-genre such as Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, and Military Science Fiction (Stableford, 2006: 22). On the other hand, there is Horror Genre that its distinct feature is to frighten the reader.
According to J. A. Cuddon (1991) horror genre is “a piece of fiction in prose of variable length...which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing” (Cuddon, 1991, p. 11). The horror genre has several sub-genre. Most of them are divided into psychological horror and supernatural horror sub-genre (Cuddon, 1991: 28). There is also a fiction sub- genre in which the story emphasizes the character’s internal characterization and motives to explore the character’s mental, emotional and even spiritual life,
which is Psychological Fiction or Psychological Realism (Harmon & Holman, 1990: 357). This genre also has sub-genre such as Psychological Thriller, Psychological Horror, Psychological Drama, and psychological Science Fiction.
B. Psychological Fiction Genre
The existence of fiction genres such as novels and short stories have become more widespread in the world of literature. It is also basically due to the nature of the genre, as Frow (2005) conveyed that genres can be crossed with any existing genre. This fact allows the genre to develop with the times and also to adapt to the author’s ideas. Therefore, at this time, we can find various kinds of sub-genres born from multiple crosses between genres. The psychological fiction genre is also one of them. It is one of many sub-genres that the fiction genre has. Following Frow’s statement about sub-genres, psychological fiction has psychological theme content that became the fiction genre’s specification.
In addition, the psychological fiction genre also has some sub-genres such as Psychological thriller, Psychological Horror, Psychological Drama, Psychological Science Fiction (Frow, 2005: 44).
Johnson (2006) stated that, arguably, the psychological fiction genre in prose (particularly in novel) started by the french author of Princesse de leves (The Princess of Cleves), Madame de Lafayette’s (1678), which also adapted into a drama movie with the same name in 1961. A work influenced by Madame de Chartes’ deep character analysis but also by the uncertainty about the motivating core of human behavior. The focus on personality’s internal
function became the focal point in 18th-century epistolary novels. However, Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy (1759) dramatically shows the blending of psychological realism (psychological fiction) and literary form, which offers a significantly new approach by way of a psychological exploration of time. This unorthodox, digressively structured narration shows that consciousness does not function in linear and sequential order but in a network of random connections and associations (Johnson, 2006).
In the 19th century, there was an increasing interest in the concealed emotional and personality centers, especially those nebulous character areas which could lead the individual to the primary or compulsive predilection (Bahtin et al., 2000). Hidden centers of mind and personality, particularly those nebulous regions of character, could drag the individual toward the base action or compulsive predilection. Stendhal was one of the authors of that interest, in his The Red and the Black (1830) and The Charterhouse of Parma (1839) were the noels which he conveyed his belief that the passions were in the higher place of all humankinds’ instinct (Johnson, 2006). Additionally, the novelistic study of the domains of sleep, dreams, and hallucinations arise naturally from an interest in the mysterious but powerful regions of the mind. While this journey may have more to do with metaphysics than with the mind, all of these books fall into the psychological category because of the idea that a dream or vision can discover true identity. The novels included two of Victor Hugo’s works, The Toilers of The Sea (1866) and The Laughing Man (1869), and Charles Nodier’s Smarra (1821) and The Crumb Fairy (1832) (Culler, 2000).
In comparison, the 20th century’s approach introduced a modern realism to the psychological novel, a realism that found its most prominent source in Flaubert’s Madame Bovary’s extensive psychological validity. The Brothers Karamazov (1880), The Idiot (1869), and Crime and Punishment (1867) were Dostoevskii’s works, and all of them emphasized the conflict regarding idealistic expectations for life and the psychological realities of living which shown by the characters’ frequent inner monologues (Frank, 2009: 20).
Moreover, along with the evolution of the psychological fiction era, Baym et al.
(2008) mentioned that Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a master of this genre. Frank (2009) explains that Dostoyevsky’s Psychological fiction literary works containing dreams firstly appeared in his short story from his early career, White Nights (1848). His novels, most particularly the novels he published in 1866 and 1890 that is Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, which are heavily concerned about the ideas and the characters, are heavily concerned with ideas and the characters who embody them, the way they represent in situations of real-world, and indeed, the ideas worth (Baym et al., 2008: 169).
Several particular characteristics can be recognized in literary works that are categorized as psychological fiction genres. Cuddon (1991) mentioned that there are at least two particular characteristics in a psychological fiction genre.
The explanation states that psychological fiction novels or short stories tend to focus on these: 1) Internal Characterization which is influenced by the character arc, and 2) how the story works in a certain narrative style, which makes it able
to investigate the motives of the character’s action that lead the plot and provide context for the story’s narrative.
1. Internal Characterization
As a the genre that focuses on the story’s characters, it is supposedly appropriate if the characteristics of psychological fiction are the aspects related to “the story’s character.” The first characteristics are internal characterization (internal characterization) and the character’s journey, which are related to each other. Characterization is indeed essential in every narration or dramatic work.
However, these characterizations, particularly the internal characterization, become an essential point in the psychological fiction genre. Bahtin et al. (2000) explains that in the 19th century, characterization appeared along with the first affirmation of the realist novel. It becomes the gate of character-driven narrative and the primacy of character, which reverses Aristotle’s view where he promotes the primacy of plot over character that results in the plot-driven narrative. Furthermore, it also increases along with the influence of psychological development. Internal characterization and character arc may also appear in the other kind of genre or sub-genre in literature; however, what makes psychological fiction different from them is that other genres do not use this characteristic as the story’s primary focus. Psychological fiction uses internal characterization and character arc as part of its characteristics because this genre is a character-driven narrative in which the character is the main aspect that builds the whole story. The changes that appear in the internal characterization during the character’s arc will determine the plot’s growth, and
the character’s decision throughout the story will also determine how the story ended. Furthermore, since this genre is a character-driven narrative, the characteristic of this genre must be related to what is literary feature that can emphasize the concept of a character-driven narrative and did not make the essence of a character-driven narrative disappear (Harmon & Holman, 1990:
358).
Characterization was described as the representation of persons, creatures, or other beings in dramatic works or narratives, which the personage is called “character” (Gerke, 2010: 51-52). Whilst, internal characterization, is the representation of the internal state of the character such as the character’s feelings or psychological condition, that is commonly portrayed through the explicit (Direct) or implicit (Indirect) way. When it is in an explicit way it will be directly told by the author or through the story’s narrator. However, if it is implicitly, then it is shown through the character’s thought, way of speech, action, reaction, or interaction with another character within the story.
Meanwhile, for the character arc, Gerke (2010) mentions that in fiction terms, a character’s transformation is called his inner journey or character arc.
However, the researcher will use the term character arc in previous explanations about psychological fiction genre characteristics to avoid confusion. There are five major phases that the character arc has: “Initial Condition (including the
“Knot”), Inciting Event, Escalation, Moment of Truth, and Final State” (Gerke, 2010, p. 86).
a. Initial Condition
Concisely, the initial condition is how the story introduces the main character. Along with the initial condition, the character’s knot or problem will also appear. In this case, the knot is the thing that is wrong with the character. Furthermore, Gerke also mentions that everything in the story aims to and make him/her aware of it (the knot) to make a difference. He stated that knot is “…the thing that is wrong with your character. It’s his flaw, his besetting sin, the unhealthy lifestyle he’s gotten himself into. It’s the bad thing that the story’s whole point is to expose and give him the opportunity to change” (Gerke, 2010:88).
b. Inciting Event
When the character encounters the undodgeable event that starts the journey, it is the phase of inciting event. Gerke explains that the character will find the inciting event as a nuisance. Besides, it is also considered as an unwanted sidetrack that that the character wish to be done with quickly so he can get back to his life (Gerke, 2010:111).
c. Escalation
Furthermore, during the journey, the character will face the phase that shows the intensified struggle between the old way and the new way of the character, which also becomes the transition phase towards the moment of truth, which is what the escalation phase is (Gerke, 2010:125).
d. Moment of Truth
After that, the character starts to make the final decision or the
path that the character would choose, whether it contradicts the initial condition that solves the knot (in a bad or good way) or stays the same in the moment of truth (Gerke, 2010: 88).
e. Final State
Whatever the character chooses in the moment of truth will also specify the final state, which is the character’s state at the end of the story (Gerke, 2010:88).
These phase mainly affects the internal characterization of the main character in the story. Therefore, the character’s internal characterization is strongly influenced by the transformations experienced by the characters throughout the story. Therefore, the transformation of the character along the story plays a significant role in determining the character’s internal characterization. However, it is also possible for a character to not “change”
even if he/she is going through the character’s journey, such as a side character or the supporting character, yet for a protagonist character, they are commonly always going through changes. Particularly in the psychological fiction genre where the protagonist points out to be must-have change in the end of the story, whether in a good or bad way. She starts with a particular personality or state but ends with character development (transformation).
According to Gerke (2010), the character’s inner journey or character arc is the character’s transformation that occurs over the story. Indeed, each character in a story may have their own journey; however, in this case, the
protagonist’s internal journey or transformation is prioritized and even more concerned. The idea is also supported by Bell (2004), stating that lead characters and the protagonists are most likely to experience the character’s journey. It is due to the role of the protagonist that will lead the whole plot of the story. In conclusion, the protagonist’s internal journey will be explored and become the main event in the story. It also includes the essential background such as significant life events, the birth order, the way the other character responds to the protagonist, and even the core temperament of the protagonist (Gerke, 2010: 86).
2. Narration Style
The second characteristic is the narration style. It is explained that the narration style used in this genre purposely focuses on investigating the motives for the character’s actions, which drive the plot and provide context for the narrative (Cuddon, 1991). Furthermore, to achieve the style, the use of flashbacks and stream of consciousness made it possible to do profound understandings and descriptions of the mental status details of the internal aspects in the character’s mind. It is also supported by the explanation from Saricks (2009), in The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction, explaining that “Much fiction, especially Literary Fiction, draws on psychological theories and motivations to propel the story and define the characters” (Saricks, 2009, p.229).
Flashback is one of the methods that often appear in most novels and short stories. According to Abrams & Harpham (2011), a flashback is
“interpolated narratives or scenes (often justified, or naturalized, as a memory, a reverie, or a confession by one of the characters) which represent events that happened before the time at which the work opened” (Abrams & Harpham, 2011, p. 296). It becomes an essential tool to introduce a particular character in the story that lets the reader understand or be closer to the character and increase their empathy towards the character. That also helps reveal the character’s motivation or past experience that affects their actions in the story’s present time. Furthermore, not only in literature but flashback is also applied in the psychological field, particularly one of the essential aspects in PTSD description, which refers to “powerful memories in which traumatic events are not just relieved but reexperienced as occurring in the present” (Brewin et. al., 2010).
CHAPTER III
FINDING AND DISCUSSION
In this chapter, the researcher provides the answer of the research question of this study about psychological fiction genre characteristics found in the five selected short stories: Last Night, Slumberland, The Pitch, Volcano House, and Karolina. The analysis based on J. A. Cuddon (1991) theory of psychological fiction genre characteristics.
A. The Psychological Fiction Characteristics in The Short Stories
Based on J. A Cuddon’s book, The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary (1991) psychological fiction genre tend to focus on two things, internal characterization and narrative style.
1. Internal Characterization in 5 Short Stories
Internal characterization that influenced by the character’s journey (arc) is the first characteristics of the psychological fiction genre. The internal condition of a character and how the character’s journey influences the internal characterization portrayed in the story will determine the whole story from the beginning until the end (Harmon & Holman, 1990: 358). As Gerke (2010) and Bell (2004) mentioned, in this genre, the protagonist of the story is the one that is being concerned or prioritized because the protagonist is most likely to experience the character’s journey. And all of
the the selected short stories includes each phase of character’s journey to build a story that emphasizes on the internal characterization. There are five phases of the character’s journey: Initial Condition, Inciting Events, Escalation, Moment of Truth, and Final State. Those phases will deliver as follows;
a) Initial Condition
Gerke (2010) mentioned that Concisely, the initial condition is how the story introduces the main character. Along with the initial condition, the character’s knot or problem will also appear. In Last Night, the internal characterization of the protagonist portray that the character has suicide issues in the past, it is illustrated in the narration shown in the following data:
“I was seventeen and I had been in this place for ten months, receiving treatment for my various attempts to kill myself.” (p. 14)
The data describe the protagonist’s past, which explains the initial condition and her knot that also shows the protagonist’s unstable mental condition which is marked by various suicide attempt that the protagonist done. However, the story does not reveal the reason she committed suicide and only mention that her suicide attempts made her sent to the rehab facility and explaining her internal characterization in the first phase of the character arc. Furthermore, it is also mentioned that the protagonist also despises her parent’s stubbornness to keep her in the facility while she wants to end her life. She cannot accept the fact that they even sacrifice
their house only to pay the facility and keep her there which is portrayed in the following data:
“My parents had mortgaged their house to keep me there and it was only in my last two months that I agreed to talk to them on the phone and even then it was mostly out of boredom. I was that angry they wanted me to live.” (p.14)
As it is stated before, the protagonist stayed in the facility for ten months and only accept her parents call in her last two months on the facility which shows how angry the protagonist at her parents. The internal characterization of the protagonist in this phase portrayed as someone with unstable mental condition, marked by various suicide attempts that the protagonist did.
The protagonist is initially a mother (works as a photographer) who once had a son. In the story’s present time, she still thinks about her dead son every time she takes a picture of an object that reminds her of him. It is illustrated from the way she met the mother and son. Her inner monologue shows her beginning state, which portrays how she once had mother-son relationship in her life which is illustrated in the following data:
“Sometimes I parked in an unfamiliar neighborhood and walked round with my camera. That was how I got the mother and son, haloed in the warm light of their kitchen…If apprehended by the mother, I could have said—I had what you had once, or a version of it, and I long to visit that lost world.” (p. 19)
Besides illustrating that the protagonist was once a mother, the data also shows that she longed for her memories with her late son. This issue becomes the core of the story because the whole story has something to do
with her son and her painful experience when her son died. Furthermore, she is still in a state where she always questioned something related to her son’s death, which worried her family. It is portrayed in the following data:
“Was it better to die with a pillow under your head or stretched out in the grass? That was the kind of question that could preoccupy me all night, the kind that caused my sister and her girlfriend to worry, because he had not died with a pillow under his head, he had died stretched out in the grass.” (p. 18-19)
The data shows how the “question” that preoccupied her worries her family, particularly her sister. She wonders which one of the two conditions is better to die with as if she is thinking which one will be the better one when she wants to end her life (suicidal thoughts).
In the Pitch the protagonist initially portrayed as someone who grew without his mother’s love, for his mom died in childbirth. It is illustrated in the following data:
“My husband’s mother, I had been told, died in childbirth. When we first met, he had a nasty habit of leaving his dirty socks on the bathroom floor and when I’d asked him, “Were you raised in the woods or what?” he had replied, “As a matter of fact I was.” (p. 53)
Furthermore, due to unspoken reasons, his relationship with his father is not on good terms, and he always avoids questions related to his orphanhood. Therefore, the researcher concludes that those are the knot that will be untangled in the story. It is portrayed through the following data:
“During this time, I had tried to engage my husband on the subject of his impending orphanhood, but he refused. Instead, he spent his free hours cultivating his rose garden, examining the teas for signs of distress and
pruning his floribundas.” (p. 55)
The data shows that the story illustrates that the “orphanhood” is a topic that the husband avoids, and it is evident that there is a reason behind it. It is supported by the fact that he chose to look busy cultivating his rose garden to avoid answering his wife’s question about his orphanhood.
In Volcano House, the protagonist is a woman who has a twin sister that makes her feel inferior.she feels envious and inferior towards that twin sister because her sister has a stable job and partner. However, she still loves her sister despite the difference in their life status made a gap in their relationship. This situation made the protagonist plan to go on a trip with her sister, wishing to rebuild their chemistry. The trip reveals the protagonist’s initial condition, her internal characterization in the first phase of her character’s journey. It is illustrated in the following data:
“I had suggested the trip, I wanted to see if it was possible for us to learn to act like sisters, if the chemistry between us could be changed. In Iceland, I was thirty-seven, right around the age when you start to feel a need to account for how you’ve been spending your life. I thought that if I couldn’t have a spouse to call or a permanent address or a dedicated vocation, I could at least see a volcano.” (p. 72)
In the last sentence of the data, she compares her life with her sister.
Because her sister already has a spouse, she often calls every time they are together, and she also already has her own house, unlike the protagonist that does not have all of that yet. Furthermore, she also feels like she did not exist every time she is in the same room or place as her sister, which makes it her knot in the story. It is illustrated in the following data:
“It’s never been just the two of us before. I sit on the bed and think about how sometimes it was hard being her sister. If she was the anchor, being around her made me feel like air—transparent, insubstantial.” (p. 69)
Meanwhile, in Karolina, inner characterization of the protagonist in the initial condition of her character arc shows how she is biased towards her brother, denies that his brother is someone cruel in his childhood, and never feels like she was afraid of him and instead, he is someone who saved her. Furthermore, it is also supported by the following data:
“I told the detectives that never in my life had my brother shown such aggression, even though there were times when I gave him plenty of reason. I said his behavior on the 911 call was an aberration, that it did not fit into a larger pattern, though it occurred to me later that perhaps his behavior did fit a larger pattern, just not one I was privy to.“She must have done something,” I said to the detectives. “Something awful.” (p.
101-102)
Based on the data, it is shown that the knot of the protagonist is related to her brother and Karolina, the sister-in-law that she assume as a person that cause his brother’s behaviour. The data also shows how the protagonist shown as someone that is persistently defending her brother despite hearing the evidence of her brother's abuse towards Karolina provided by the detective. She ignored that her brother was doing something wrong and terrible to Karolina and still blindly took her brother's side and blamed Karolina for what happened.
b) Inciting Events
As explained before, the inciting event is when the protagonist faces an event that starts the progress of the story (Gerke,2010). This phase
affects the protagonist's internal characterization and becomes the cause that starts the story. Entering the inciting event, it is portrayed that the protagonist is trying her best to distract her mind in order to avoid any suicidal thought, after she is released from the facility. It is illustrated in the following data:
“I’ve spent years cultivating a noisy life. I live in a city riddled with unending construction projects, in an apartment above a bar. I see student after student during office hours; I let their words replace my thoughts. I volunteer at a women’s crisis center in my neighborhood. I listen to the women tell me what’s happened to their lives. Recently, though, silence has snuck in…I blame that shuttered bar for the return of my last night.” (p. 8)
Besides illustrating how the protagonist cultivating her busy life, it is also portrayed how she is doing that on purpose because she wanted the
“noisy” surrounding her to replace her suicidal thought. However, when she stated that “silence has snuck in,” it means that suddenly her surroundings become quiet, and that makes her memories of the past reappear, especially her last night at the facility. The sudden appearance of her “last night” made her feel uneasy, and she did not like this. It is shown in how she stated that “I blame that shuttered bar for the return of my last night.” It is illustrated in the following data:
“I want to tell you about the night I got hit by a train and died. The thing is—it never happened. This was many years ago. I didn’t think about that night, my last night, for a long time and then one day I woke up and it was all I could think about.”(p. 8)
Meanwhile, in Slumberland, the inciting event refers to the scene where the protagonist starts getting a reaction physically after she hears her
neighbour wails every night. Therefore, she decided to escape from the situation by visiting Slumberland, where the story reveals why she got affected by her neighbour's wails and the whole story of the protagonist. It is illustrated in the following data:
“at around ten o’clock at night, she would start carrying on, and her uncorked sadness had a physical effect on me: my skin itched, my teeth ached, a clear liquid leaked from one of my ears. Once I even got a nosebleed.” (p.16)
The data portrays how the protagonist is affected by her neighbour’s crying, every night until it affects the protagonist physically.
However, the protagonist, who feels uncomfortable with how it affects her every time, decides to escape from that situation. It is illustrated in the following data:
“I did not knock on her door or call building management to complain because I did not want to confront whatever was happening in my neighbor’s apartment; I wanted only to get away.” (p. 18)
The protagonist decision to escape the situation is by going to Slumberland and photograph a lot of things. This is where the she encounters some event that leads her to the escalation phase. It is illustrated in the following data:
“Parking and walking was also how I started photographing Slumberland, a motel at the end of a residential street, in my old neighborhood near Lake Monroe, an area I had not been back to in some time.” (p. 21)
Meanwhile, in the Pitch, the inciting events arise when the protagonist’s wife finds a family photo of her husband and recognizes an
